This book compresses Fokkelman's many publications of analyses of
biblical poems into a handy volume suitable for introducing the student
who is serious about reading the poetry of the Bible. At the same time
the book provides an argument for reason (if not rhyme) to the analysis
of Hebrew poems into stanzas, strophes, and cola. It is this study,
rather than any examination of themes, vocabulary issues, or the more
general organization of the Psalter, that animates Fokkelman's study
and provides one of the few introductory books available for learning
the techniques of reading poetry. Although the definition of poetry as
both art and communication is important, it is reserved for the second
chapter. The first provides an exercise for reading two poems, Isaiah
1:16-17 and David's lament of 2 Samuel 1. In this way the author
signals that this is not a theoretical discussion alone, but one that
will go forward only by means of reading as many many poems as possible
and demonstrating the wide range of ways in which Hebrew identifies,
explains, links, and distinguishes its poetic forms and ideas.

Fokkelman accepts the view that we can identify the beats or
stresses of each line of a poem and, in this manner, identify cola and
use them to construct strophes and the larger stanzas. To each of these
divisions he devotes a chapter. He observes that there are two to four
stresses per colon, two to three cola per verse, two to three verses
per strophe, and two to three strophes per stanza (p. 37). In addition,
he notes that in eighty-five psalms that he has examined, the average
number of syllable per colon for each poem comes out to be either 7, 8,
or 9, but always an integer. This suggests that the poets were aware of
the number of syllables in each colon (p. 47). Thus Fokkelman provides
a convincing case on which to build his argument for the consistent
identification of cola. This provides the basis for the identification
of the many ways in which lines may relate to one another, summarized
under the general heading of parallelism. Parallelism may occur on the
level of morphology, syntax, vocabulary, sound, and semantics. This
study provides the means for further analysis of the numerous
interconnections between elements common to a strophe and then for the
analysis of the greater argument of the poem by looking at the
relationship of strophes within a stanza, as well as the broader
interconnections between stanzas in a poem.

Later chapters apply these techniques to a sample of wisdom
literature as well as the love literature of the Song of Songs. An
appendix provides strophe divisions for the poems of the Hebrew Bible.
A glossary of terms, bibliographic notes, end notes, and an index of
biblical passages conclude the volume.

The book fills a gap between surveys of the Psalms and other
introductions to the poetry of the Bible, on the one hand, and
commentaries on the relevant books, on the other hand. It provides a
modern literary introduction to the means by which one may carry out a
close reading of the Psalms. Because it is written for an English
reading audience, it should provide important guidance for many pastors
and teachers of the Bible who wish to enrich their ability to study and
derive the maximum understanding and interpretation of these ancient
poems. One does not need to agree with Fokkelman's optimism for
metrical analysis as the sole means to understand a text in order to
appreciate that he has provided a work with important and (often)
previously unavailable insights into a neglected topic.